Half of the country using electricity power for lighting - KNBS

Half of the population in Kenya is using as electricity as a source of lighting, giving credence to President Uhuru Kenyatta's last-mile connectivity project launched in 2015.

Data from the 2019 census released Friday revealed that 12.04 million households or 50.4 per cent of the population light their homes with electricity.

According to the data, although there are more electricity users in the rural areas at 7.3 million than the urban setting, where only 4.6 million are using electricity for lighting, the penetration rate is still lowest upcountry, with only 26 per cent connected compared to 88.4 per cent in the urban setting.

The number of solar users in the country has risen tremendously in the past decade from less than a percentage to become the most common source of lighting at 19.3 per cent.

At least 6.6 per cent of the population is, however, still using tin lamp (koroboi) for lighting with another 2.8 per cent relying on firewood for lighting.

The remaining 0.3 per cent and 0.2 per cent are using pressure lamp and gas lamp for lighting.

Electricity has become affordable for the majority of Kenyans, thanks to the last mile connectivity project where homes get a subsidy to pay Sh15,000 gradually as they consume power.

The ambitious Kenya National Electrification strategy aims at having every household connected to power through grid expansions and the use of off-grid sources by 2022.

The project, now in its second phase, is expected to benefit an estimated 1,571,000 local residents while maximising the usage of Kenya Power’s existing 35,000 distribution transformers.

Kenya led its East African peers in deepening access to electricity in a World Bank report released June last year.

At over 75 per cent access currently, the country’s rate was almost triple Uganda’s 22 per cent and almost double Tanzania’s 32.8 per cent and Rwanda’s 34.1 per cent.